Bicycle carrier adapted to be mounted on the back of a vehicle

ABSTRACT

A bicycle carrier is adapted to be mounted on the rear of a vehicle. The carrier comprises first and second mounting members and a pair of horizontally spaced bicycle supporting arms connected to the mounting members. The mounting members are pivotably connected for relative rotation about a horizontal pivot axis between a plurality of adjusted positions. The carrier includes indicia corresponding to each of the adjusted positions of the mounting members, so that a user can quickly return the carrier to the same adjusted position. The supporting arms carry cradles formed of an elastic material for receiving a bicycle. Each cradle includes a curved supporting surface for receiving a bar of the bicycle frame, and an integral strap which can be extended over the bar to retain the bar within the cradle. An anti-sway bar hangs downwardly from at least one of the supporting arms for resisting swinging movement of a bicycle.

This application is a continuation of patent application Ser. No.08/205,551, filed Mar. 4, 1994, now abandoned, which is a Divisionalpatent application of Ser. No. 08/019,700 filed on Feb. 19, 1993,pending, which is a Divisional patent application of Ser. No. 07/829,282filed on Feb. 3, 1992 now U.S. Pat. No. 5,211,323 issued on May 18,1993.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to bicycle carriers adapted to be mountedon the backs of vehicles.

Bicycle carriers of that type are conventional, e.g., see U.S. Pat. Nos.3,710,999; 3,927,811; 4,332,337; 4,428,516; 4,513,897; and 4,830,250. Itis common for a carrier to have first and second U-shaped mountingmembers which are seatable against upper and lower portions of the rearend of a vehicle, respectively. The carrier is attached to the vehicleby means of straps which are connected to the carrier and which carryhooks adapted to grasp portions of the vehicle. The mounting members arepivotable relative to one another. Consequently, the angle formedbetween the mounting members can be adjusted to enable the carrier tofit different vehicle configurations. A pair of supporting arms projectrearwardly for receiving a bicycle. The supporting arms include bentends or adjustable brackets which form cradles on which a bar of thebicycle frame is laid.

Prior art carriers have exhibited certain shortcomings. For example,although the angle formed by the mounting members can be adjusted toenable the carrier to be mounted on vehicles of differentconfigurations, it may be necessary for the user to experiment withvarious angles in order to determine which angle is appropriate. Suchtime-consuming procedure may be required every time that the carrier isre-attached to the same vehicle or switched between different vehicles.

Furthermore, in the event that a user attempts to mount more than onebicycle on the carrier, the bicycles may tend to swing toward and awayfrom one another as the vehicle is in motion, thereby repeatedlyclashing with one another.

Also, the frame of the bicycle may tend to become scratched bymetal-to-metal contact with the cradles.

It would be desirable to provide a bicycle carrier which can be mountedon the rear of a vehicle and which alleviates the above-explainedshortcomings as well as others.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Such a bicycle carrier is provided by the present invention, the carriercomprising first and second mounting members and a pair of horizontallyspaced bicycle supporting arms connected to the mounting members forreceiving at least one bicycle. A securing mechanism is provided forsecuring the mounting members to the rear end of a vehicle. Apivot-forming arrangement is provided which forms a pivot connectionbetween the mounting members to enable the mounting members to pivotrelative to one another about a generally horizontal pivot axis betweena plurality of adjusted positions for adjusting an angle formed betweenthe mounting members. The pivot-forming arrangement includes indiciacorresponding to each of the adjusted positions of the mounting members,and means for indicating the respective indicia when the mountingmembers are in each of the adjusted positions.

Preferably, each of the mounting members is U-shaped and comprises apair of legs. The pivot-forming mechanism comprises a pair of firstbrackets connected to the legs of the first mounting member, and a pairof second brackets connected to the legs of the second mounting member.Each of the first brackets is pivotably connected to one of the secondbrackets to define generally horizontal pivot axis. The indicia aredisposed on one of the brackets and are visible through an openingformed in another of the brackets.

Another aspect of the invention involves a bicycle carrier comprising amounting frame, and a pair of bicycle supporting arms projectingrearwardly from the mounting frame. At least one cradle is mounted oneach of the supporting arms for cradling a bicycle frame. Each of thecradles is formed of a flexible material and includes a base mounted ona respective supporting arm, and a retaining strap. The base forms abicycle-engaging surface and includes first fastening means. The strapis arranged to be extended across the bicycle-engaging surface to retaina bicycle frame thereon. The strap includes a second fastening meansengageable with the first fastening means for fastening the strap in itsbicycle frame-retaining position.

Preferably, the base and strap are of one-piece construction, and thefirst fastening means comprises a tab, and the second fastening meanscomprises a plurality of apertures.

Still another aspect of the invention involves a bicycle carriercomprising a mounting frame and a pair of bicycle supporting armsprojecting rearwardly from the mounting frame. Each of the supportingarms has cradling means for supporting at least one bicycle. Ananti-sway bar hangs downwardly from at least one of the supporting armsfor resisting swinging movement of a bicycle. The anti-sway bar can bepositioned between two bicycles mounted onto the supporting arms inorder to prevent bicycle-to-bicycle contact during movement of thevehicle. Alternatively, the anti-sway bar can resist the rearwardswinging of a single bicycle mounted on the carrier.

Preferably, a lower end of the anti-sway bar is hook-shaped, andconfigured to snap onto the other supporting arm when the carrier isstored.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent fromthe following description of a preferred embodiment thereof inconnection with the accompanying drawings in which like numeralsdesignate like elements, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a bicycle carrier according to thepresent invention mounted on the rear end of a vehicle;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the bicycle carrier, with securingstraps thereof being deleted for clarity, and with a anti-sway bar shownin phantom lines in a carrier-storing position;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a hub portion of the carrier, and afragment of a leg of a mounting member which is to be inserted into asocket of the hub;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary perspective view of a cradle according to thepresent invention, the cradle being in a bicycle frame-retainingcondition;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken through the hub along the line5--5 in FIG. 6;

FIG. 6 is a side elevational view of the hub depicted in FIG 3;

FIG. 7 is a side elevational view of a portion of the carrier whichforms a pivot connection between two mounting members of the carrier;

FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along the line 8--8 in FIG. 7 after aleg of an upper mounting member has been inserted into a bud of thepivot-forming mechanism;

FIG. 9 is a side elevational view of the carrier, depicting variouspositions of adjustment of the carrier in broken lines; and

FIG. 10 is an exploded perspective view of the bicycle carrier depictedin FIG. 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION

A bicycle carrier 10 according to the present invention is depicted inFIG. 1 as mounted on the rear of a vehicle 12. The vehicle 12 includes atrunk lid 14 and a bumper 16.

The carrier 10 comprises a frame formed by a pair of mounting members18, 20, and a pair of bicycle supporting arms 21, 21' project rearwardlyfrom the frame. An upper one of the mounting members 18 is U-shaped andcomprises a pair of leg portions 22 interconnected by a bight portion24. Likewise, a lower one of the mounting members 20 is U-shaped andincludes a pair of leg portions 26 interconnected by a bight portion 28.

The mounting members are interconnected by two pivot-forming structures30, each of which includes first and second brackets 32, 24. The firstbracket 22 is affixed to the upper mounting member 18, and the secondbracket 34 is affixed to the lower mounting member 20.

The second bracket 34 is U-shaped and includes a pair of leg portions 36(see FIGS. 8 and 10) interconnected by a bight portion 38. The bightportions 38 forms a socket which receives the upper end of a leg portion26 of the lower mounting member 20 and retains the leg portion by meansof pins in the form of rivets 40 which pass through aligned holes in theleg 26 and leg portion 36.

Each of the first brackets 32 comprises a generally cylindrical hub 33having a radially extending socket portion 42 for receiving a legportion 22 of the upper mounting member 18 (see FIG. 3). A pin in theform of a bolt 44 extends through aligned openings 46, 48, 50, 52 formedin the hub 33, the bracket 34, the leg 22, and the supporting arm 21 (or21'), respectively, as shown in FIG. 8. The pin forms a pivot axis Aabout which the hub 33 can rotate relative to the bracket 24.

An internal wall of the socket 42 could include a projection (not shown)sized to enter a groove formed in an outer wall of the leg to aid inproperly aligning the leg within the socket.

The hub 33 includes a plurality of through-holes 60 (see FIG. 6)arranged in a circular path concentrically about the pivot axis A. Thelegs 36 of the bracket 34 include two aligned holes 62 (see FIGS. 7 and8) spaced from the axis A by the same distance as the holes 60. Hence,by rotating the hub 33 about the axis A, the holes 60 can be broughtsequentially into alignment with the aligned holes 62. By inserting athreaded bolt 66 through the aligned holes 62, 60 and into a threadedhole 68 disposed within the supporting arm 21 (or 21'), the mountingmembers 18, 20 will be locked in a particular adjusted position. Thenumber of possible positions of adjustment corresponds to the number ofholes 60. In contrast, the supporting arms 21, 21' have only oneoperating or use position. The threaded hole 68 can be provided in thesupporting arm 21 (or 21') in any convenient fashion, such as by meansof a polypropylene plug 70 affixed within the supporting arm 21. Theplug 70 includes holes through which the rivet 44 and bolt 66 extend,and carries a threaded nut 71 which receives the bolt 66.

The hole 62 of the bracket 34 and the hole 68 of the supporting arm 21are located such that when the supporting arms 21, 21' are in their useposition they are oriented substantially perpendicular to the upperportions of the legs 26 of the mounting member 20 as the carrier isviewed from the side in a direction parallel to the axis A (see FIG. 9).

Rotational support for the hub 33 within the bracket 34 is enhanced bythe engagement between a circular projection 72 formed on each of theouter surfaces of the hub, and a circular recess 74 formed in each ofthe inner surfaces of the bracket legs 36 (see FIG. 8). The engagementbetween those projections and recesses 72, 74 forms a rotary supportbetween the hub 33 and bracket 34.

in order to enable alignment between the holes 60 of the hub 33 and theholes 62 of the bracket to be more easily attained, each of the insidesurfaces of the bracket 34 is provided with a projection 76 which isspaced from the axis A by the same distance as the holes 60 of the hubare spaced from that axis. In FIG. 7 a part of one of the legs 36 isbroken away to show the projection 76 located on the opposite leg 36.Thus, as the hub 32 rotates, the holes 60 will sequentially becomealigned with, and receive, the projections 76. The projections do notlock the hub in its various positions of adjustment, but merely offer ayieldable resistance against further hub rotation. The projections 76are located such that when they are nested within one of the holes 60,another of the holes 60 will be aligned with the holes 62 of thebracket, as depicted in FIG. 8, thus facilitating insertion of the bolt66 to lock the carrier in that particular adjusted position.

It will be appreciated that when relative rotation about axis A occursbetween the upper and lower mounting members 18, 20, such as whenchanging from one adjustment position to another, the angle formedbetween those mounting members changes, as is evident from FIG. 9 whichdepicts various adjusted positions of the carrier in broken lines. In sodoing, the carrier 10 is capable of being mounted on the rears ofvehicles of different configurations. Thus, each position of adjustmentis suited to one or more particular vehicle model. When a user attemptsto re-attach the carrier to a vehicle, or transfer the carrier from onevehicle to another, it would be highly inconvenient to have to repeatthe time-consuming procedure of experimenting with different adjustmentpositions of the carrier.

In order to avoid that inconvenience, the present invention providesmeans for identifying the various adjustment positions. As depicted inFIG. 5, indicia in the form of a series of numbers, i.e., numbers 1through 12, is disposed on one of the sides of the hub 33. Those numbersare arranged in a circular path which is concentric with the axis A. Oneof the legs 36 of the bracket 34 includes an opening 80 (see FIG. 7)which is spaced the same distance from the axis A as are the numbersformed on the hub. The opening is situated so that whenever the mountingmembers have been indexed to any one of their adjusted use positions(excluding a storage position), a number is visible through the opening80. For example, the number "5" is visible in FIG. 7.

The numbers can be provided in any suitable manner, such as by beingintegrally molded with the hub and then colored in an appropriate mannerso as to be clearly distinguishable.

Hence, once a user has adjusted the carrier to suit a particularvehicle, the user need only record the particular position number whichis disposed in the opening 80 in order to be able in the future toquickly return the carrier to the position suited to that vehicle. Ifthe user owns a number of vehicles, then he will record the positionnumbers pertinent to each vehicle.

Furthermore, it is possible for the manufacturer of the carrier toprovide the user with a listing which correlates various vehicle modelsto the position numbers. Hence, upon purchasing the carrier, the usercan immediately index the carrier to its proper position without theneed to experiment with different positions.

In order to support a bicycle B without scratching the frame,bicycle-receiving cradles 90 formed of an elastically flexible material,such as rubber or soft plastic, are provided to receive and cradle a barC of the bicycle frame F. Each cradle 90 includes a base 92 and a strap94 which are of integral, one-piece construction. The base 92 includes athrough-hole 96 which is adapted to receive a supporting arm 21 (or21'). The supporting arm makes a snug frictional fit with the hole 96,so the cradle 90 can be slid along the supporting arm and then be heldin position by friction.

A wall of the through-hole 96 includes a projection 98 which is receivedin a longitudinal channel 100 formed in an outer surface of thesupporting arm 21 (or 21'). The projection tends to retain the cradle ina prescribed circumferential position on the supporting arm, so that abicycle-receiving surface 102 of the cradle faces upwardly.

That surface 102 is formed on the base 92 and is of curved shape togenerally conform to the curvature of the bar C of the bicycle frame.The base 90 carries a metal fastener tab 104 which is disposed on a sideof the surface 102 opposite that of the strap 94. The tab 104 can bemounted in the base in any suitable fashion.

The strap 94 includes a plurality of fastening holes 106 (see FIG. 4)which are sized to receive the tab 104. Thus, once the bar C of thebicycle frame has been placed onto the surfaces 102 of two of thecradles, the straps 94 are wrapped around the bar C and fastened to thetab 104, as depicted in FIG. 4. The bar C will be held in place withoutany metal-to-metal contact which could scratch the bar.

Two pairs of cradles 90 can be provided to enable two bicycles to besupported simultaneously on the supporting arms. During vehiclemovement, there may occur a tendency for the bicycles to swing aboutaxes defined by the bars C during movement of the vehicle. In order toprevent bicycle-to-bicycle contact during such swinging movement, thereis provided an anti-sway bar 110. The anti-sway bar 110 comprises an arm112 having a hollow sleeve 114 at its upper end. The sleeve 114 receivesa supporting arm 21 to enable the anti-sway bar 110 to be slidlongitudinally therealong. Disposed over a front face of the arm 112 isa cover 116 formed of a relatively soft material such as rubber or asoft plastic. At its lower end, the arm 112 is shaped like a hook 118.The anti-sway bar is positioned intermediate the front and rear pairs ofcradles and hangs vertically downwardly such that if the bottom of arear bicycle swings forwardly toward a front bicycle, the bottom of therear bicycle will strike the soft cover 116 of the anti-sway bar 110.Consequently, damage to the bicycles as the result of bicycle-to-bicyclecontact will be avoided.

The anti-sway bar 110 is longitudinally adjustable along the supportingarm 21 and the sleeve 114 is snugly engaged with the supporting arm 21.By applying sufficient force to the anti-sway bar 110 to overcome thefrictional contact with the supporting arm, the position of theanti-sway bar can be changed.

For carrier-storage purposes, the anti-sway bar 110 can be swung aboutthe axis of the supporting arm 21 until the hook 118 snaps onto theother supporting arm 21' as depicted in phantom lines in FIG. 2. Thus,the carrier will be rendered more compact for storage purposes than ifthe anti-sway bar 110 were permitted to hang free.

While the anti-sway bar 110 limits forward swinging movement of the rearbicycle, the upper portions 130 of the legs 26 of the lower mountingmember 20 perform a similar function with respect to a front bicycle.When the carrier has been properly mounted on a vehicle, the upperportions 130 of the legs 26 will be oriented substantially vertically,and the supporting arms 21, 21' (which have only one use position) willbe oriented substantially horizontally. Hence, the leg upper portions130 will be conveniently suited to limit the forward swinging movementof the front bicycle. Pads 131 are provided on the legs 26 to preventthe bicycle from being damaged by the leg portions 130.

If desired, the legs 26 and the anti-sway bar 110 could be provided withstraps to enable the front and rear bicycles to be attached to the legs26 and anti-sway bar, respectively, to prevent swinging of the bicycles.

The lower portions 132 of the legs 26 are inclined inwardly anddownwardly from the upper portions 130 to form obtuse anglestherebetween. Hence, the bight portion 28 of the lower mounting member20 will be properly located for engaging the rear bumper of the vehicle,as depicted in FIG. 1.

The vehicle-engaging portions of the carrier are provided with softcushions 134 to prevent the vehicle from being scratched by the carrier.

The carrier is affixed to the vehicle by means of upper and lowersecuring straps 140, 142 (see FIG. 1) which carry conventional hooks 144and adjusting buckles 146. The hooks grasp portions of the vehicle body,such as edges of the trunk lid for example, and are drawn-up tight bymeans of the buckles. By loosening the straps at the buckles, the hookscan be easily removed.

To render the carrier more compact for storage purposes, the anti-swaybar 110 is swung to its position wherein the hook 118 snaps onto thesupporting arm 21'. Then, the bolt 66 is removed to enable the mountingmembers 18, 20 and the supporting arms 21, 21' to be swung about theaxis A so as to lie more closely together. Such a compact condition ofthe carrier can be visualized in FIG. 9 wherein the lower mountingmember could occupy the solid line position shown therein; the uppermounting member could occupy the broken line position 18A; and thesupporting arms could occupy the broken line position 21A. While themounting portions 18, 20 cannot be folded so as to lie in the sameplane, they can be folded sufficiently to cause the size of the carrierto be substantially reduced to provide for convenient storage.

Although, not essential, the bracket 24 and the hub 33 could be providedwith holes that are aligned in the storage position and which are alsoaligned with the hole 68 of the supporting arms, so that the bolt 66 canbe reinserted to hold the carrier in its storage position.

In operation, when a user desires to install the carrier 10, the bolt 66is removed, and the frame 18, 20 of the carrier is adjusted to aposition fitting a particular vehicle 12 by rotating the mounting member18 about axis A so that when the carrier rests against the vehicle, thesupporting arms 21, 21' extend substantially horizontally. Then the bolt66 is reinserted, and the hooks 144 of the straps 140, 142 arepositioned to grasp convenient edges of the vehicle body in aconventional manner.

The user may now observe and record the position or index number whichappears in the opening 80 (FIG. 7), so that, in the future, the carriercan be quickly indexed to that same position.

The manufacturer could provide a listing of vehicle models and thecorresponding index numbers of the carrier, so that the user would neverhave to experiment with different positions of the frame.

Once the carrier has been installed, one or more bicycles 83 are mountedon the cradles 90. If two bicycles are to be mounted, the cradles 90 canbe adjustably positioned along the supporting arms 21, 21' to space thefront and rear pairs of cradles apart by a distance commensurate withthe size of the bicycles.

The cradle straps 94 are then wrapped around the bar C of the bicycleframe F (FIG. 4) to provide 360 degree securement of that bar. Due tothe soft, elastic nature of the cradle, the bicycle bar C will notcontact metal so as to become scratched.

The anti-sway bar 110 (see FIG. 2) is positioned closely adjacent therear bicycle to resist swinging of that bicycle during vehicle travel,and thereby prevent bicycle-to-bicycle contact.

When the carrier is removed from the vehicle and stored, the anti-swaybar 110 can be rotated to a convenient storage position (see brokenlines in FIG. 2) wherein the hook 118 snaps onto the other supportingarm 21'.

Although the invention has been described in connection with a preferredembodiment thereof, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the artthat additions, modifications, substitutions and deletions notspecifically described may be made without departing from the spirit andscope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A bicycle carrier adapted to be mounted on therear of a vehicle, comprising:a mounting frame; securing means forsecuring said mounting frame to the rear of a vehicle; a pair of bicyclesupporting arms projecting rearwardly from said mounting frame, each ofsaid supporting arms having cradling means for supporting at least onebicycle; and an anti-sway bar hanging downwardly from at least one ofsaid supporting arms and rotatable about an axis defined by said onesupporting arm, said anti-sway bar having a first end which engages thesupporting arm, a second end and an elongated contact area which extendssubstantially vertically from the support arm along a substantialportion of said anti-sway bar between the first and second ends, saidcontact area being adapted to engage a side of a bicycle frame forresisting swinging of the bicycle.
 2. A bicycle carrier according toclaim 1, wherein said anti-sway bar is adjustably slidable along saidone supporting arm.
 3. A bicycle carrier according to claim 1, wherein alower end of said anti-sway bar is hook-shaped and configured to snaponto the other supporting arm when the carrier is stored.
 4. A bicyclecarrier according to claim 1, wherein said cradling means include frontand rear cradling means for supporting front and rear bicycles,respectively, said anti-sway bar being positioned between said front andrear cradling means.
 5. A bicycle carrier according to claim 4, whereinsaid frame includes legs oriented generally vertically in front of saidfront cradling means for resisting swinging movement of the frontbicycle.
 6. The bicycle carrier of claim 1, wherein the anti-sway bar isprovided with a cover of soft material.
 7. A bicycle carrier adapted tobe mounted on the rear of a vehicle, comprising:a mounting frame;securing means for securing said mounting frame to the rear of avehicle; at least one bicycle supporting arm projecting rearwardly fromsaid mounting frame, said supporting arm having cradling means forsupporting at least one bicycle; an anti-sway bar having a first end anda second free end which is vertically displaced from the first end inuse; a hollow sleeve at the first end of the anti-sway bar, said hollowsleeve being arranged on a portion of one of the mounting frame or thesupporting arm; and said anti-sway bar having an elongated contact areaextending along a substantial portion of the anti-sway bar between saidfirst and second ends, said elongated contact area being adapted toengage a side of a bicycle frame for resisting swinging of the bicycle.8. A bicycle carrier according to claim 7, wherein said anti-sway bar isadjustably slidable along the portion of the mounting frame.
 9. Abicycle carder according to claim 7, wherein said anti-sway bar isrotatable about an axis parallel with the at least one supporting arm.10. A bicycle carder according to claim 7, wherein the portion of themounting frame comprises the at least one supporting arm.
 11. Thebicycle carrier of claim 7, wherein said free end has a hook shape andsaid anti-sway bar has a length such that the hollow sleeve may bemounted on one supporting arm while the hook shaped free end is snappedonto a second supporting arm.
 12. The bicycle carrier of claim 7,further comprising straps attached to the anti-sway bar to enable abicycle to be secured to the anti-sway bar.
 13. The bicycle carrier ofclaim 7, wherein said anti-sway bar is provided with a cover of softmaterial.
 14. The bicycle carder of claim 7, wherein said anti-sway baris arranged on a portion of the mounting frame at a position separatedfrom the cradling means.
 15. The bicycle carrier of claim 7, wherein theelongated contact area is substantially elongated for engaging sides ofat least two members of the bicycle frame.
 16. A bicycle carrier adaptedto be mounted on the rear of a vehicle, comprising:a mounting frameincluding at least one bicycle supporting arm, said supporting armhaving cradling means for supporting at least one bicycle; securingmeans for securing said mounting frame to the rear of a vehicle; ananti-sway bar arranged rotatably on a portion of the mounting frame at aposition separated from the cradling means, said anti-sway bar having afirst end, a second end and an elongated contact area extending along asubstantial portion of said anti-sway bar between said first and secondends, said contact area being positioned substantially vertically andadapted to engage a side of a bicycle frame for resisting swinging ofthe bicycle.
 17. A bicycle carrier adapted to be mounted on the rear ofa vehicle, comprising:a mounting frame; securing means for securing saidmounting frame to the rear of a vehicle; at least one bicycle supportingarm projecting rearwardly from said mounting frame, said supporting armhaving cradling means for supporting at least one bicycle; an anti-swaybar having a first end, a second free end, and an intermediate portionbetween the first end and the second free end; said intermediate portionhaving an elongated contact area extending along a substantial portionof said anti-sway bar between said first and second ends, said contactarea being adapted to engage a side of a bicycle frame; and saidanti-sway arm being rotatably positioned on a portion of one of themounting frame or the supporting arm so that the intermediate portionwill abut the side of the bicycle frame for resisting swinging of thebicycle.
 18. The bicycle carrier of claim 17, wherein said anti-sway baris arranged on a portion of the mounting frame at a position separatedfrom the cradling means.
 19. The bicycle carrier of claim 17, whereinthe elongated contact area is substantially elongated for engaging sidesof at least two members of the bicycle frame.